Falling For Her Bodyguard. Amy Vastine

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      The inside of the house was just as unexpected as the outside. It wasn’t simply a house; it was a home. The open-concept layout made the first floor appear bigger than it was. The couches looked extremely comfortable and there were some of Avery’s art projects hanging on the refrigerator.

      A bag of potato chips sat open on the coffee table along with several soda cans. There was no angry teenager, though. Something told Kelly he was probably locked in his room.

      “My room is upstairs,” Avery said, leading the way. Her pigtails swished from side to side as she walked.

      Avery’s room was magical. Three of the walls were painted a soft blue while the wall her bed sat against had the most beautiful mural of a castle in the sky. The stone castle sat on a pile of clouds. Each one of the four turrets had purple flags flying from the top and there was a large rainbow arching over it. Above that, there were two heart-shaped clouds with halos.

      Kelly’s throat tightened and tears threatened to burst from her eyes. Little Avery had her mom and dad watching over her bed every night.

      “I asked Graham to add a unicorn but he said he’s not that good at painting animals yet.”

      “This is amazing, Avery. It’s so beautiful. Your brother is very talented.”

      “Too bad he thinks he can draw on any wall he wants now.” Donovan leaned against the doorjamb with his arms crossed over his chest.

      Kelly remembered the call he had taken this morning. Graham had vandalized the library and been suspended. She could only imagine what a difficult time the kid was going through. She was a grown woman who had only lost one parent, and even that was unbearable sometimes.

      “And this is my reading corner. Uncle Donovan built me this bookcase and got me this purple beanbag chair. Purple is my favorite color.” Avery plopped down on the chair and pulled a book off the shelf.

      “Well, your uncle is full of surprises.”

      “Want to read a book with me, Kelly?” Avery asked.

      “We have to go, little one,” Donovan said, straightening up and dropping his arms to his sides. “I’ll read one with you after dinner.”

      “But I want to read one with Kelly. Can’t she stay for dinner? We’re having spaghetti and meatballs. Uncle Donovan makes giant meatballs as big as my head. Do you like spaghetti and meatballs?” Avery asked Kelly.

      “As big as your head?” The man was getting more interesting by the second.

      “They are not as big as your head,” Donovan corrected his niece. “Come on and get your shoes on. You and Graham have to come with us because I can’t trust your brother here unsupervised.”

      “But she loves spaghetti!”

      Kelly giggled at her persistence. Donovan certainly had his hands full with his niece and nephew.

      “She never said she loves spaghetti. Please go get your shoes on.”

      It was clear that he did not want a dinner guest. No amount of adorable begging was going to get him to change his mind. Not that Kelly wanted to stay. Considering why they were here, dinner was likely to be a bit tense.

      “I like spaghetti, but I really need to get home. Maybe we can have dinner another time, okay?”

      Avery looked absolutely crestfallen. “Fine,” she grumbled as she brushed past him and out the door.

      “Sorry about that. She lacks boundaries. I’m not sure how to teach her them without making her think she can’t talk to anyone. She’s at that age where everything is black or white. She never sees gray.”

      Kelly shook her head. “She’s adorable. Don’t discourage her from being her sweet self.”

      “Sweet until she doesn’t get her way. Lucky for her and unfortunately for me, I have a hard time telling her no. If you hadn’t turned her down, I fear I would have forced you to eat spaghetti with us.”

      Had she not met Avery in person, it would have been harder to believe that she ruled this roost with her cuteness. Although that was clear, so much more was not. Kelly was naturally curious and she had about a million and one questions. How did Avery and Graham’s parents die? How did the kids end up with Donovan? Did he cook anything other than spaghetti and meatballs? Did he build other things besides bookcases?

      “Well, I really do need to get home.” Kelly knew today was not the day to ask any of them. She walked past him and into the hall. “But you owe me spaghetti and meatballs as big as my head some other day because that I have to see.”

      * * *

      THE LAST THING Donovan imagined happening today was bringing a woman into his home and having to discourage Avery from inviting her over for dinner. One of Jessica’s final requests was that he promise not to bring women in and out of the kids’ lives. To be fair, his sister didn’t specifically ask him to remain single. In fact, Jess had begged him to try harder to let people in, but in his line of work, vulnerability meant death. Donovan understood it was unlikely a woman would kill him if he let her get close, but he was who he was and so far everyone he had ever dated wanted more than he was willing to give. That meant it was better he drop out of the dating game until the kids were grown.

      Donovan’s biggest concern was that he’d be responsible for his niece and nephew having to suffer any more losses. A father and a mother were enough. He didn’t want them to get attached to someone only to have them disappear.

      He knocked on Graham’s door. “We leave in two minutes. You better be in the back seat of my truck when I’m ready to pull out of the driveway or else.”

      Donovan had no idea what the “else” would be but hoped the threat of the mysterious else would be enough to encourage Graham to do as he was told. Why did parenting have to be so hard?

      “If it makes you feel any better, I hear that once you get through the teenage years, it’s smooth sailing,” Kelly said as they headed downstairs.

      “Considering he’s only fifteen and she’s barely seven, I’m not sure if that’s good news or bad. The light at the end of the tunnel is so far away, it’s a tiny pinprick.”

      “Well, maybe she’ll be less trouble. She might learn from some of the trouble he gets in.”

      Kelly was quite the optimist. Donovan had lost the ability to see the bright side a long time ago. Since Oliver, Donovan’s best friend and Jessica’s husband, was killed in the line of duty and Jessica was diagnosed with incurable cancer, Donovan only expected the worst. Since his sister died, every day was similar to his time in the military. It was all about survival—his and the kids’. He didn’t have the luxury to hope for more than getting through each day still breathing.

      “Can Kelly sit in the back with me?” Avery asked as she came skipping through the house.

      “I would love to sit in the back with you, Miss Avery.” Kelly gave one of Avery’s pigtails a gentle tug. “Did you do these pigtails yourself?”

      Avery giggled and the СКАЧАТЬ